Nargles and a Cinderella tale
by Dani4Short
Summary: Luna Lovegood in a Cinderella story. For the Ever After: The Fairy Tale Challenge in the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum. Druna.


Luna Cinderella.

Written for the Ever After challenge on HPFC.

This really did not turn out how I hoped it would. So I just found a version of Cinderella and went with that, adding and changing some things. I hope I didn't completely fail.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the story of Cinderella.

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Luna Lovegood was once a happy child, full of laughter and love, always smiling and giggling like eight year old girls should. But tragedy struck when her mother died when she was nine. Her father took her mother's death hard and went slightly looney, thinking of strange imaginary creatures and making a magazine to share his strange new beliefs.

Luna didn't mind this much, she was too busy pruning her mother's rose bushes. But she did mind when her father remarried, to a widow with two girls. Mrs Selena Greengrass had two young girls, Daphne Greengrass and Astoria Greengrass.

Luna knew her stepmother and stepsisters didn't like her one bit, but she hadn't a care for their love. She only started caring when they began treating her unkindly and kept her away from her now almost-mad father, who was locked up in the attic.

The years passed and Luna became less of a noblewoman and more like a servant for the once great house of Lovegood. She wore rags instead of the rich dresses her stepsisters wore; she had old wooden clogs instead of dainty slippers, not even anything to eat besides the scraps off the dinner table. Luna was forced to work all day and only finished her last chore after dinner, when she would collapse by the fire to read her mother's favourite book. That's how she got her nickname, 'Cinderella', for she was always covered in cinders in the morning.

The only thing Luna had that her stepsisters didn't was natural beauty. With her long golden curly hair and light dreamy blue eyes, pale skin and tiny frame, Luna was beautiful. Even in rags and her face covered with dust, she was a much lovelier girl then Daphne and Astoria who, no matter how elegant and rich their clothes, were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly.

One day, when Luna was seventeen, letters arrived at the door. It was invites to the ball being held at the oldest, richest family around; the Malfoy family. Daphne and Astoria shrieked and squealed, ordering new dresses and other things to be brought into the room right away. Luna watched them ask their mother for new things as Luna cleaned the grand piano.

She watched them for a second before gaining the courage to ask if she could go with them. "Could I go too?" She asked. "It says every woman in the house." Luna nodded at the opened invitations in her stepsisters hands.

Her stepmother turned and narrowed her dark green eyes at the blond girl. "Oh no, my dear girl. You will be staying home to wash the dishes, scrub the floors and turn down the beds for Daphne and Astoria. They will be very tired when we return home. Come girls." With that, she led the two snotty, giggly girls out the door.

Luna dropped her cloth and sat on the piano bench with a puff, blowing strands of hair from her eyes. She spun in the seat and ran her fingers over the keys. "Oh, I wish I could go." She sighed before playing a soft lullaby her mother had taught her when she was young.

Suddenly there was a bright burst of light, making Luna gasped, throwing her arms over her eyes. She soon uncovered them and almost cried out in delight. Her mother was standing beside the piano, smiling. But there was something different. Luna peered closer and saw her mother was transparent and had wings, wearing a white dress and not the robes she had died in.

"Mummy? Luna whispered, wiping a tear from her eyes. Oh, how it felt to see her mother smiling at her.

"Yes, sweetie." Mrs Lovegood said softly, reaching out to trace her daughter's face. "It's me." Mrs Lovegood smiled, tears in her eyes. "I heard your wish and my lullaby from heaven, and I am going to help you go to the ball."

Luna smiled happily before her face dropped. "How can I?" She asked glumly. "Dressed in rags and looking like the servant girl I am? They will never let me inside."

"Luna, you have forgotten." Mrs Lovegood frowned slightly. "You are a Lovegood." She leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead before taking her hands and pulling Luna to her feet.

Luna found herself in the most beautiful white and light blue dress she had ever seen, her hair up in an elegant bun. Sticking out a foot she saw a dainty glass slipper. "Oh mummy!" She gasped, smiling happily. "This must be a dream! The Wackspurts truly have gotten to me."

Mrs Lovegood paused from where she was gazing out the window to frown in thought. "Wackspurts? The rubbish your father has been believing." She muttered, rolling her eyes. Mrs Lovegood walked over to Luna and whistled. "Come, my love."

Luna smiled and tucked a hand in her mother's arm and the two walked out the front door, where a white carriage and seven white horses waited outside. "You will go to the ball and you will meet the Malfoy boy, in whose honour the ball is being held. He will be enchanted by your beauty." Mrs Lovegood said, opening the door for her daughter.

"Are you sure?" Luna asked as she climbed into the carriage, sitting down. She leaned over the door as her mother closed it. "I might screw up this lovely dream."

Mrs Lovegood laughed and kissed her head. "Sweetie, you only need to remember you have to be home by midnight, that's when everything will turn into it's normal form." Mrs Lovegood looked at her daughter's facing lovingly. "You are beautiful, my Luna. I love you."

Luna bit her lip to keep from crying. "I won't see you again will I?" She asked.

Mrs Lovegood shook her head. "You will see me when the time is right."

"I love you." Luna whispered as the carriage started moving. Mother and daughter continued waving until they couldn't see each other anymore.

"Look, the Greengrass girls are here with their mother." Lady Malfoy whispered to her son and husband. Lord Malfoy craned his neck slightly to look at the three walking towards them.

"Isn't she the woman who married old looney Lovegood when his wife died?" Lord Malfoy asked curiously.

"I believe so." Lady Malfoy murmured. "And didn't he have a daughter?"

"Yes, but no one has heard anything about her for years." The son said lowly as the Greengrass women walked over.

"Lord and Lady and Sir, may I present my daughters, Daphne and Astoria." Mrs Greengrass said, curtsying. The sisters copied.

"Lovely to meet you, Mrs Greengrass. This is my son, Draco." Lady Malfoy said, bowing her head.

Draco looked over the two girls fluttering their eyelashes obviously at him. One of them was chubby with a rounded, pig like nose and the other was pretty, but in an evil sort of way. He fancied neither of the girls. "Pleasure to meet you." He said bowing.

But as he stood, his eyes locked onto a figure just entering the ball room. It felt like everyone had become silent as he watched the figure hesitantly made their way through the large doors. "Excuse me." He murmured, walking between the sisters and towards the figure.

The sisters shared a look and huffed before turning to watch the young Lord. Their mouths fell open when they saw him bow to a beautiful young woman. "Mother!" They snapped.

Luna blinked in surprise when the Lord bowed at her. "Lord Malfoy." She said, curtsying, holding the skirt of her dress in one hand.

The Malfoy boy smiled. "Please, call me Draco. What is your name?" He asked, eyes light. Luna blushed lightly.

"I can't tell you." She stammered lightly. His face fell. "You will never see me again after tonight.

Draco smiled slightly and held out a hand. "Well then, fair maiden, if this is to be our only night together, may I have this dance?" Luna smiled and slipped her hand into his.

They danced the whole evening, much to the disappointment to many young women and men. Draco kept asking Luna for her name, trying to trick it out of her, but she always answered the same way: "It doesn't matter, you won't see me again after tonight."

Luna was so caught up with dancing and talking with the Lord she lost track of time. When the first stroke of midnight sounded, she jumped and came to a stop. She remembered what her mother said and gasped. "I must be going!" She cried, grabbing her skirts in her hands, stepping away from Draco. "Goodbye, Draco."

"No!" Draco cried when she turned and ran off. "Wait! My Lady, please!" But she kept on running. E ran after her, around a corner, but she was out of sight and all that remained was a dainty glass slipper in the middle of the stairs.

Draco picked up the slipper lovingly. He knew he was madly in love with this strange girl. He turned to his ministers the next morning. "Go and search everywhere for the girl whose foot fits this slipper. I will never be happy until I find her." He said fiercely, his mother covering her mouth with a hand.

The ministers set out and tried the shoe on every young girl they could find. When they reached the Lovegood house, Mrs Greengrass pulled her away from where she was cleaning the floor of the ball room.

"They think you might be the girl everyone's talking about." Mrs Greengrass sniffed. "The one they think danced with the young Lord. But you were here all night. I don't see the point." She shrugged and led them to the waiting room. Luna gaped when she saw her lost slipper sitting on a small pillow.

Daphne screamed and shouted when the small slipper wouldn't fit on her fat foot. "Mother, make it fit!" She screamed. Mrs Greengrass glared at her.

"Enough." Mrs Greengrass sniffed. "Astoria is much more fit to be a Lady then you anyway." She nodded to have Astoria try on the slipper, Daphne watching wide mouthed.

"Mother, it doesn't fit." Astoria hissed, gritting her teeth as she tried to shove her long flat foot into the shoe. Mrs Greengrass turned red when the minister pulled the slipper away and moved onto Luna.

"She is but a servant girl." Mrs Greengrass snapped.

"We much try every young girl around." The minister said solmely, slipping the slipper onto one of Luna's feet. There was a moment of silence when the shoe sat on her foot perfectly.

"This awful untidy girl simply cannot have been at the ball." Snapped Mrs Greengrass. "Tell the Lord he can marry one of my two daughters, Astoria! Can't you see how ugly Cinderella Luna is?" She exclaimed.

There was a pop and Mrs Lovegood appeared standing before Mrs Greengrass with an angry look on her face.

"This is enough, I have watched you torture and abuse my daughter for years. I will not let you ruin her life anymore!" Mrs Lovegood flicked her fingers and Luna appeared in a gorgeous dress, shining with youth and natural beauty.

"You, my fair maiden, are the one the Lord awaits. He wishes to marry you." The minister exclaimed, kneeling down.

Luna looked between her mother and step family before curtsying. "I would be honoured." The minister stood and took her arm, leading her out of the house. Mrs Lovegood waved and disappeared.

Luna smiled as she ran into the young Lords arms. They held each other for a second. "May I know your name?" He asked.

"Luna. I'm Luna Lovegood." Luna whispered, pulling Draco's face down and kissing him. "And yes, I will marry you." The two broke into laughter, of relief, surprise, shock and hope.

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